


Home is Where the Heart is

by sammylacutie



Series: Makorra Family AU [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Chief!Korra, F/M, Family Fluff, Mako and Korra never stopped being dorks, Mako wears a pink apron, Stay at home dad!Mako, cant even, family au, so much dorkness, warning dork level is high
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 21:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3426455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammylacutie/pseuds/sammylacutie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>!!For the Makorra gift exchange!! </p><p>Being the eldest daughter of the Avatar is one thing. But being one out of three firebenders (the other two being her parents) in the entire South Pole is something completely different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home is Where the Heart is

**Author's Note:**

  * For [B-A-E-M-A-X from Tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=B-A-E-M-A-X+from+Tumblr).



> This has to be one of my favorite fics that I've written so far. It took me a while to write it but I enjoyed every second creating it. I love this AU so much. This is actually Annabelle's (B-A-E-M-A-X on Tumblr) headcanon that I turned into a fic. I also have another fic placed in the same AU if you want to check that out. And thank you Annabelle for this wonderful headcanon, I want to continue writing fics about it! (P.S: I know the title is sucky, I couldn't think of anything better. ALSO! Thanks to Hiba (Grandmamako on Tumblr) for being a beta!! You seriously helped me out a lot. Thanks girl!)

The South Pole was no place for a firebender.

 

Naoki sighed as she looked out into the vast, white, powdered land her family called home. Sure she’s lived here for couple years, and sure her mom’s family was from here too. But a firebender should be in the hot temperatures of tropical islands, not surrounded by ice and snow.  

 

She was the spitting image of her mother. Dark skin with dark hair. Her long, wavy, dark brown hair ran down to her mid back. She had two small ponytails in the front held by blue material with the water tribe symbol engraved in them. Her eyes were father's though. The color of fire. 

 

The ten year old trailed back into the medium sized house. When she walked in, she overheard her sisters, Katara and Yuki, running around playing some silly game of tag most likely.

 

Katara was a warm mixture of her mother and father. Her skin was not too dark but not too light either. She wore her brown hair up in high ponytail. Her eyes were blue like her mother's. Katrara was also the only water bender between her sisters. She was also the most stubborn of the three.

 

Yuki on the other hand was different from her older sisters. The youngest was only three years old, yet had not shown any signs of either firebending or waterbending. Her skin was pale compared to her siblings, closely resembling Mako. Along with his skin tone, Yuki also had his eyes. Her hair was dark brown like Korra's, worn in braided pigtails. 

"Alright, girls. Lunch is ready," yelled their dad from the kitchen. Mako, the retired detective from the police force of Republic City, stood in the kitchen with his bright pink apron that said "kiss the cook". (It was a wedding gift from Asami. She said it brought out his eyes.) 

 

The three sisters walked into the room and sat at the dark wooden table. Mako came over with three bowls of seaweed noodles. As the girls ate, Naoki played around with her food, barley touching it. Mako noticed her behavior and said something.

 

"Is something wrong, Naoki?” His eldest sighed. 

"Nothing dad. I just...do you ever get bored of living here?" Mako raised an eyebrow. 

"Well the house isn’t that boring.” He responded.

"That wasn't what I meant. What I meant was do you ever get bored of living here in the South Pole?"

Both of her sisters stared in confusion at Naoki. Mako looked at her as well, mirroring the confused look. 

Naoki continued. "It's just that the South Pole is no place for a firebender." 

 

Mako was taken back. What in the name of Raava was Naoki saying. 

Mako kneeled down towards her level and looked at her.

"Why do you say that?"

"I...it's nothing. Just forget it."

"Naoki-"

"Dad I'm not hungry. I'm going to lay down." With that the little firebender got up from her place, emptied her plate and went into her room up the stairs. 

 

“Daddy, why did Naoki say that?” Mako shook his head.

“I don’t know, sweetheart.” He placed his hand on Yuki’s head.

 

                                                                     ~*~

  
Naoki sat on her bed reading a book her aunt Jinora gave her. She always loved Jinora’s taste in literature. Reading the novel was helping her get her mind off things from earlier today.

 

As she flipped through the pages, a quote struck her.

 

“ _The firebender set force a burning blaze to the forest. The villagers screamed and ran in panic. The smell of burnt trees and smoke grew as the fire expanded_.”

 

Her hands gripped the edges of the book. Fire always had to be the dangerous. Fire always had to be evil. Fire always had to be the killer. She threw the book across the room. Fire was the enemy. Fire was the reason she stood out. Fire was the reason she had no friends. Fire was the reason she wanted to leave her home.

 

A knock on her door made Naoki jump. She calmed herself down a bit and called out.

“Come in.”

 

Mako walked into the room with a soft smile. He went in and sat in the chair near her desk.

 

“Is there anything you like to talk about?”  
Naoki didn’t say anything at first. She stared at her balled up fists. Her shoulders were tense and she avoided eye contact.

 

Mako knew all the signs of body language interrogating people back in Republic City. He noticed that Naoki was stressed. And from what she mentioned earlier, it had to do something with being a firebender.

 

She didn’t talk for a long time. It was quiet just between the two of them. And then she spoke.

 

“Dad… how do you deal with it?” Mako raised his head.  
“How do I deal with what?”  
“Being a firebender in the opposite element.” Mako had to really think about his answer. He was so used to the South Pole now.

 

“I guess I just adapted to it. It was hard moving down here. I lived in Republic City my entire life. I was used to all the diversity. But when we moved down here it was like a slap in the face. I’ve been here before many times, but never did I actually have to stay put and live here. Adjusting was difficult. People found it funny to be honest. And I didn’t mind them. I had too much to worry about.” He poked her nose and she wore a tiny smile.  
“Why did you ask sweetheart?”

 

Naoki rubbed her eyes. She wouldn’t shed tears. She wasn’t weak.

“Because…because everyone knows the element of fire is an evil one! What caused the 100-year war? Fire! What causes scars on people? Fire! Fire is the most dangerous of all elements. It’s the element of destruction. It’s pure evil!” By this time a few tears had slipped from her amber eyes. Her shoulders shook. She hated showing weakness to anyone, but especially her dad.

 

Mako got up and pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. Hiccups left her mouth as she tried to calm down. He placed a hand on her small upper back and began to rub it softly. Her breaths slowed down, taking her time to inhale and exhale. They stayed together for a few minutes.

 

He didn’t pull away as he spoke to her.

“You’re right. Fire is the element of destruction. But fire is not only that. Fire is the element of power.” He pulls back and grasps her hands in his. “Fire is the element of life. There is no reason why you should think of fire as pure evil. Those actions caused by many firebenders in the past were bad. But those firebenders _chose_ to be bad people. It wasn’t the element that made them bad. It was their character.”

 

By this time Naoki’s face was covered in streaming tears. Her eyes were pink from all the crying. And her button nose was all stuffed up.

 

“A-all of the kids at school make fun of me. I always play the bad guy because I’m the firebender. They don’t like me.”  
“They’re just jealous sweetie. Don’t let those kids get to you. Just because you’re different doesn’t make you any lesser then them. Alright?”

Naoki nodded her. Mako smiled and wiped her tears away.

 

“Know this. Even if people at school don’t accept you, your family will always accept you. I love you, Naoki. You are my sunshine on a cloudy day.” He pinched her cheek and she let out a hopeless giggle.

 

He kissed her forehead and stood up.  
“Now go freshen up. I think your sisters want to play with you.”  
Naoki smiled softly and left her bedroom.

She made it to the bathroom when she footsteps behind her. She turned and saw her sisters. Katara had a blunt look on her face while Yuki had a huge smile. Yuki ran up to her oldest sister and hugged her.

 

“I love my big sister so much!”  
Naoki blushed and laughed. She picked up Yuki, though it was a bit of struggle. The three year old squealed and wrapped her arms around her.

Katara gave a slight roll of the eyes, the scene too gushy for her but pulled in eventually. She gave a hug around her two sisters.

“Yeah you’re pretty amazing, sis. You know, for a firebender.”

Naoki rolled her eyes playfully.

 

The sisters embraced for a bit more before pulling away.  
“Come on!! Let’s go penguin sledding!!!” Yuki cheered. The three grabbed their heavy fur coats along with some fish Naoki was happy to be different. Who else could have rocked the red fur coat? 

 

                                           ~*~

 

Talking about politics all day could make someone gone insane. Korra was sure she was beyond that point. Being chief of the tribe was not an easy job. She never really knew how much her dad did until she got the position. All it was paperwork and listening to old people talk. Korra would love to travel again outside the South Pole. But duty calls. She committed to being chief, so she’ll stay as it until she decided otherwise.

 

The clock read 5:30 pm.

“Well I could go home now. But then I’ll have lots of paperwork to do on Monday. Decisions, decisions…”

A second went by.

“Home sweet home, here I come.”

 

Korra walked out office building. There was a barn next door where she kept Nola, one of Naga’s pups. Naga was still alive but she was old. Korra knew she couldn’t move like she used to. Nola was one out of five pups. Unfortunately Korra and Mako had to give away most of the pups, but they all went to caring families. It was hard on Naga but she learned to accept it. Nola was the runt of the liter so she was one no one wanted. Exactly why both little Naoki and Katara wanted her. 

 

The chief reached the stable in piece. She whistled for Nola. The polar bear dog was smaller compared to her mom. Nola did have a stomach though. The kids wouldn’t stop feeding her treats.

 

Nola’s ears perked up as she saw Korra.

“Hey, girl. Let’s go home.” Korra got her tacked up and off the two went back home.

 

People always questioned Korra’s lifestyle. Since she was chief she could have lived in the Royal Palace. But she wanted to give her children a normal life. No guards. No walls. Besides her mom and dad still live in there and she didn’t want them to move out.

 

They also questioned why she continued to ride her polar bear dog when she could use a machine that was faster. The growth of technology was rising. And a lot of societies began to change. Korra didn’t want to use technology twenty-four/seven. In fact she thought traveling by polar-bear dog was faster and safer in some cases.

 

Nola ran faster than Korra noticed because they were already coming up to the house. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either. It sat near the far side of town. There was a barn next to the house, along with a pastured fence. The Avatar walked the polar bear dog into the barn, untracked and groomed her and let her into her stall. As she went down the aisle Korra spotted Naga. Naga licked Korra’s face and she laughed. Her best friend was still at her side and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

“I missed you, too.” Quickly she got out the feed and fed the two polar dogs before walking into the house.

 

As she entered the house, the essence of her favorite meal was being cooked. Quietly the older woman sneaked through the house into the kitchen. When she got through she spotted the five-flavored stew, still cooking on the stove. Crossing the wooden floor Korra made it to the pot. She was about to grab the spoon next to the pot but then a hand smacked hers away.

 

“Ouch!”

“Dinner isn’t ready.”  
Korra pouted.

“But I’m hungry.”  
Mako rolled his eyes playfully.

“And whose fault is that?”  
Korra pointed to him.  
“Un huh. Blame it on cool apron guy.”  
She rolled her eyes. You would think Mako would hate the pink apron but he always wore it when he cooked. Korra was going to make a comeback at his “precious” apron when she realized something. It was quiet in the house.

Too quiet.

“Where are the girls?”  
“Penguin sledding.”

 

So the two of them were in the house _alone_. That rarely happened. Korra went over to Mako and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Since we’re alone, mister, maybe I should eat something up.”  
Mako chuckled softly before resting his forehead against hers.

Korra could tell something was wrong. He seemed tensed.  
“What’s wrong?”  
Mako sighed.

 

“It’s Naoki... She’s been bullied at school apparently.”  
“What?! Someone is bullying our child? Oh not anymore. Wait until I tell their parents!” How dare someone hurt one of her children. Even though Korra gave the girls a range of freedom when she didn’t have much as a child, she was super protective of them.

 

“Korra… she said people bully her because she’s a firebender.”

That was not the reason she was expecting. Most kids would tease others because of their physical appearance. She never heard of kids nowadays treating others different because of their bending.

 

“Are you serious? And the teachers didn’t call us at all? No one told us?!”

Mako placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I talked to her. She viewed fire as an element of evil. That it was just death and destruction. But it’s more than that. It’s power and life.”

Naoki was in so much pain and Korra didn’t even realize this. She balled her fists and squeezed them tight. If she had jus noticed earlier, maybe Naoki wouldn’t have gotten upset. Mako read Korra’s body language and pulled her into an embrace.

“Hey. This isn’t your fault. No one is at fault here.”

“She’s a child, Mako. She shouldn’t be going through these things. We promised to protect her and Katara and Yuki with our lives.”

“Yes but we can’t always protect them. As much as I hate it… but even though we can’t protect them at every second, we’re supporting and loving them. Korra, sweetheart, don’t take this upon yourself. We can do it.” He kissed her forehead. She nodded and released her fists. Mako smiled softly and kissed her lips.

 

The two were locked in an embrace for a while until the door opened and someone let out a disgusted squeal.

“EW! Mom and dad! Stop! There’re children here!” Katara covered her and Yuki’s eyes. Yuki giggled. Naoki rolled her eyes.

 

“Oh you don’t like kisses, Katara?” Mako and Korra shared a smirk before they started to run after their girls. The sisters ran fast and laughed and squealed, trying to avoid sloppy kisses. But their parents were faster. Mako grabbed a hold of Katara and Yuki and kissed them all over their faces.

 

“Daddy- St-stop! I can-can’t breath!” Katara struggled to get out of his grip. But she was laughing too hard to try anymore. Yuki was squealing trying to stop her father but he continued.

 

Naoki still ran but Korra caught her in her arms.

“Not so fast!” Naoki laughed.

“Mom! Stop-” But she was cut off by her mother placing kisses all over her face.

“Mom-mommy!!!” She laughed harder and threw her head back. Korra kept kissing her entire face before pulling away.

“I love you.”

Her eldest daughter smiled.

“I love you, too, mom.” Korra looked into her eyes and held her hands.

“And your element loves you, too, sweetie. Fire is the element of embrace. It’s heat. It’s compassion. It’s love.” She kissed her nose.

Naoki nodded. “I know… I love being a firebender. It’s what makes me, me.” Korra wore a big smile and picked Naoki up. Naoki laughed and wrapped her arms around her mother.

 

The family of five goofed around until a burning smell went into the room. Mako widened his eyes.

“The soup! Oh spirits!” He jumped and ran into the kitchen. The girls all laughed as they heard Mako groan. The stew wasn’t too overcooked but not exactly perfect. He sighed.

 

The four of them went into the kitchen and ate the stew anyway. Their family wasn’t perfect by most standards, but it was perfect to them.

 

(A/N: I was going to end it here but I wanted to write another Makorra scene.)

 

Later that night when all the girls were tucked into their beds, and were told stories of their parents and their friends saving the world, they were fast asleep.

 

Unlike their mother who was currently trying to grab Mako’s attention, who was a reading a book. She lay next to him and tried everything she could think of. Poked him, talk to him, poked him again, acted sad, acted mad. Not a single budge. And then a thought crossed her mind.

 

‘ _Well I tried almost everything_.’

 

Korra rolled a bit away nonchalantly and waited for the perfect moment. Mako was still reading his crime novel when _BAM!_ Korra rolled fast onto Mako making him jump and his book was sent flying across the room. She let out a laugh as she watched Mako’s face turn from calm to scared to annoyed.

“Oh-oh spirits. Your face.” Mako rolled his eyes.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Korra stuck out her tongue.

“Stop being a baby.” She straddled his hips and held his hands over his head. 

Her head leaned down and their lips barley touched.

“Stop being a tease.”  
“Make me.”

Mako raised an eyebrow. The challenge was on. Korra smirked thinking she got him when suddenly in a flash she was on her back.

“What the-”

 

Mako grabbed her hands and put them above her head.

“Well looks like the tables have turned.” She gave him a deadpan look.

“Shut up and kiss me already, dork.”

Mako happily obeyed and leaned down. Their lips touched and both sighed in delight. Korra kissed him back enjoying their lip locking. He released her hands and his traveled downward to her mid back. Cautiously, yet not breaking their kiss, Mako flipped them over again and pulled Korra into lap so she was straddling his waist again.

Her arms went around his neck as one of his hands was placed on her lower back. The other held her cheek. The two kissed for god knows how long. Quiet moans and mumbles of ‘I love you’ were said and heard.

 

Korra pushed Mako down onto his back and leaned over him. Mako’s hand left her face and went into her long braided hair. Her lips finally left his and began to kiss around his neck. He sighed as her lips touched certain weak spots on his neck. His hands went up to her back to flip them over again.

 

And as they turned something felt different. Before they could realize what was happening they were on the floor.

 

Mako was on top of Korra, partly crushing her. He rubbed his head and rolled off of her. He must have hit the nightstand. Korra laid flat on the floor for a second before bursting into hysterics.

“O-oh Raava. W-we just fe-fell off the bed. M-Mako, you dork.” She held her stomach as she cried in laughter. He rolled his eyes and stood up. He helped her up as well.

 

“Come on let’s get to bed. You have to wake up earlier tomorrow.” Korra groaned not looking forward waking up tomorrow morning before the sunrise.

 

Mako chuckled and led his wife to bed. They curled in under the sheets with her back towards him. His one arm wrapped around her. She was asleep in a matter of seconds. He kissed the back of her head.

 

“Good night Korra. I’ll always love you.” Then sleep overtook him and fell asleep as well.


End file.
